Could-have-been-Stuka: The Blohm und Voss Ha-137

 Hi there! Another airplane it is. Unbelievable. Five models in one month. Wahey!

Blohm und Voss were later on in the National Socialist period quite well known for their flying boats but they started out when they purchased the Hamburger Flugzeugbau (the Ha- part in the name of the plane). Uninvited but nevertheless with the "best" intentions, they entered the competition in the mid-thirties to build Germany's new dive bomber. The Ha-137 was competing against and eventually lost out to the equally archaic looking Ju-87. Both sported inversed gullwings to keep the non-retractable landing gear short. And there the comparison stops. The Ju-87 had room for two, the Ha-137 carried just the pilot. The Ju-87 was large, the Ha-137 looked more like a fighter, albeit with an open cockpit, something the Ju-87 didn't have. Anyway, bla bla bla. Ju-87 won, Jericho trumpet, bla bla bla, obsolete, bla bla bla, Allies won.
But the Ha-137 looked to me like a nice little plane to build. But to me it looked better without the nazi-parafernalia on its hull and wings. So I removed all lettering and emblems.
The very nicely designed model is created by Der Kampfflieger, Roman Vasiliev, from Ukraine. The parts fit very well. I built it 1/72 and that's smaller than originally intended.

It received a spinning propeller and well, it was an easy and straightforward build. And that's pretty much it, actually.

I already am working on the preparations for the next model. It will be very small, and - finally -  something space-related again.

Savoia-Marchetti S.79 Sparviero (Prototype)

Long before I went on vacation, this Zio aircraft was waiting for me for a long time already. I had it printed out in the stash as a quickie for a rainy day or holidays.

It was a bit more elaborate plane and I had started work on the fuselage in the end of june. But from the beginning, I slowly grew to dislike the amount of guns protruding from the hull.

Now don’t get me wrong, I have built a lot of war planes before but this one has all its guns so… well, obviously displayed. And with all that war in Ukraine going on, it just felt not right. It was just too much... well... in your face for my taste.
But I kept building anyway. The fuselage was made and I liked its shape. The weird hump and the curves are quite unique and I liked the overall shape. On holiday, I worked a bit on the mid-engine before changing moods and working on the Johan Scherft Bee-eaters, a Zio Spitfire and the VFW 614.

Three models. In two weeks.

On the last day of my short two-week vacation I can say that I actually have made three models. So far for thinking I am not inspired or not motivated any more.
I won’t bother you with build reports (I haven’t made them anyway) but I will show you the end result.
First I built the Bee-eaters trio of Johan Scherft.  It’s the (African) dwarf-bee-eater, so it actually is full-scale.  I found a nice twig at the compost heap in the garden they could sit on and the only things I added myself were the 3D-feet (rolled and coloured paper) and a three-part blob of transparent glossy acrylic paint for the eyes. It makes the model so much more come to life. It will be left as a present to the people whose house we are house-sitting.

The second one was a relative quickie and a favourite of mine, Zio’s Spitfire. This one also will be left in the house. As always, Fabrizio Prudenziati’s model is an utter joy to build. The fit is great and the result always makes me smile. The propeller on this build already spins when just walking with it. A sigh makes it move.

The third build was this German curiosity, the VFW 614. A cooperation between several joined Greman aircraft manufacturers and the Dutch Fokker company. The small commuter plane had its engines on top of the wing. An idea which nowadays has regained momentum since it significantly reduces engine noise. A straight forward build without any difficulties. The model has no landing gear so it is placed on a pedestal. It is by no means perfect but it was a nice build and I might do it again some day. This one is going back with me.

Tomorrow it’s back to work again. And I actually am looking forward to it. Weird, eh?

Stay safe and healthy, take good care.

—PK